Chiropractic Care of Inflammatory Elgin Back Pain
There are so many spinal conditions! Your Elgin chiropractor is in the know. Connected Chiropractic welcomes them all! For optimal relief of pain and limited function, the first step is to recognize the condition then set up its proper treatment. Connected Chiropractic is experienced in both! This week’s featured condition is inflammatory back pain, axial spondyloarthritis, and the spine-specific kind, ankylosing spondylitis.
AXIAL SPONDYLOARTHRITIS
Axial spondyloarthritis is an inflammatory back pain condition. It is commonly missed as a cause of chronic low back pain although approximately 1% of the US population has it. Characteristics of axial spondyloarthritis consist of onset before 45 years of age, morning stiffness, improvement with exercise not rest, alternating gluteal pain, and good response to nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug treatment. Other features of axial spondyloarthritis care enthesitis (inflammation of tendons and ligaments insertion into bone), dactylitis (inflammation of a finger or toe), peripheral arthritis, extra-articular appearances (like psoriasis, inflammatory bowel disease, or uveitis), positive for the human leukocyte antigen B27, and a family history of the disease. Prompt diagnosis is important as is referral to a rheumatologist for evaluation and co-management. (1) Not only is axial spondyloarthritis missed in medical practices, but it’s sometimes overlooked in chiropractic offices, too. (2) It’s just not recognized for what it is: an immune-mediated inflammatory disease. Your Elgin chiropractor is aware and looks for it so that typical lapses of time - sometimes years - will not go by between symptom onset and diagnosis. Being a back pain condition, axial spondyloarthritis can be diagnosed and co-treated with chiropractic care for effective outcomes.
ANKYLOSING SPONDYLITIS: A SUBSET OF AXIAL SPONDYLOARTHRITIS SPECIFIC TO THE SPINE
One variety of axial spondyloarthritis is ankylosing spondylitis. Spondylitis is defined as inflammation of the vertebrae. Interdisciplinary management with medical, chiropractic and rehab often works well for these patients in reducing their symptoms and increasing musculoskeletal function. (3) Treating this condition requires gentle care that certified Cox® Technic chiropractic physicians are good in performing. A case of a 30-year-old male first diagnosed at age 12 whose condition, despite medical care, led to fusion of his sacroiliac joints and his facet joints in the lumbar and cervical spine. The patient underwent chiropractic spinal manipulation of his thoracic, lumbar, and cervical spine areas and physical therapy stretches for 12 weeks. His advanced condition responded favorably with some improvement in pain and flexibility. (4) Another male patient aged 34 years with a 10-year history of AS was treated for 18 weeks with chiropractic spinal manipulation and mobilization. This led to a 90% improvement in a disease activity index and an 85% improvement in a functional index from start to finish. (5) Connected Chiropractic offers very gentle spinal manipulation and mobilization in the form of Cox® Technic distraction decompression. An advanced type of the condition doesn’t rule out chiropractic care or its resulting good outcomes.
CONTACT Connected Chiropractic
Listen to this PODCAST with Dr. Gabriel Monterrubio on The Back Doctors Podcast with Dr. Michael Johnson. He describes his use of the Cox® Technic System of Spinal Pain Management for managing ankylosing spondylitis.
Make your Elgin chiropractic appointment soon. All types of spine-related conditions are accepted!
